The fifth-largest Saudi bank made a profit of 1.01 billion riyals ($269.4 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with 1.02 billion riyals in the same period a year earlier, it said in a bourse statement.

Five analysts surveyed by Reuters had on average forecast the bank would make a quarterly profit of 1.04 billion riyals.

Banque Saudi Fransi, which had reported rising profits for the previous 10 quarters, attributed its diminished earnings performance in the third quarter to a 6.6 percent increase in total operating expenses.

This offset an 8.8 percent rise in income from special commissions to 1.14 billion riyals, as well as a 1.8 percent gain in total operating income to 1.62 billion riyals. ($1 = 3.7495 riyals) (Reporting by David French; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)